Photo courtesy of Showtime.Last season of “Dexter” was disappointing. Even Cmdr. Adama from “Battlestar Galactica” (Edward James Olmos) and Tom Hank’s son (Colin Hanks) as the antagonists could not save last year’s season. However, “Dexter” has as many good seasons as it has bad ones. Now the question is: Will the seventh season be a good one, or will it be a bad one?
The finale of season six left its audience on a huge cliffhanger. Dexter’s half-sister, Debra, finally discovers Dexter partaking in one of his “rituals.” Dexter had just finished murdering Travis Marshall (Colin Hanks) when Debra popped her head in, and then the screen went black. Fans had to wait an entire year to find out what would happen next.
Did the season seven premiere give its fans a satisfying answer? Ultimately, yes. This week’s episode wrapped up the loose ends caused by the cliffhanger and left the audience begging for more.
Dexter tries his best to hide his “problem” — his “dark passenger” — from Debra. He gives her excuse after excuse, saying that he snapped and Travis attacked him first — all lies, of course. But throughout the episode, his façade begins to crumble as Debra puts the pieces together. Plus, in the background, the show is setting up a very interesting villain mystery. Louis Greene (Josh Cooke) is a character that has been shrouded in mystery since last season. Now it’s coming to pass that he will be this season’s antagonist. He’d better be Dexter’s ultimate foe because it has taken two seasons to set up this character.
The episode began with Dexter speeding on the highway, on the run, his credit cards are all being declined and he is boarding a plane to Budapest. What an opening! And the rest of the episode keeps its intensity as Debra hovers over Dexter, not knowing what she’ll do when she learns the truth.
The show flashes back to when both Dexter and Debra were kids. Debra has a new puppy, but their father, Harry Morgan, tells her that she can’t have the dog, due to Dexter’s uncontrollable urge to kill. When young Debra begins to cry over losing her dog, Dexter feels guilty and was about to tell her his secret. But, Harry pulls him aside and lectures Dexter to never tell Debra his secret, for she’ll hate who Dexter really is. This flashback foreshadows the dark days to come.
This season is hopeful. It might even be the best one yet, if the show plays all of its cards right. Slowly, but surely, “Dexter” is placing dominos throughout its progression. It seems like the show is setting up for something big. The audience doesn’t know what that will be, but everyone is left in anticipation for when the show knocks down the first domino and everything the show has set up goes off gloriously. “Dexter” has the pieces in place to have a great season; it just has to execute it well.
Reach the reporter at tverti@asu.edu
